WSSM 10th Anniversary Special Event

We’re celebrating our 10th Anniversary with Special Event operations using the call sign W1V, between July 12 – July 25!

During the two weeks, club members will take turns activating the call sign and we are offering a special certificate with the following endorsements for contacts:

Certificates will be available to anyone who works our station, in three achievement levels:

• GOLD – For anyone who contacts W1V on 10 or more different bands / modes
• SILVER – For anyone who contacts W1V on 5 to 9 different bands / modes
• BRONZE – For anyone who contacts W1V on 1 to 4 different bands / modes

We will also be offering certificates for operators, in the same levels. For example, if you activate 10 or more different band slots, you are eligible for a Gold level certificate.

Click here for more details, and to find out how to sign up to operate W1V during the event.

The Maine 200 Special Event is less than a month away!

The excitement is building!

It’s hard to believe, but the Maine Bicentennial Special Event is less than a month away! Activities will kick off at 0000 UTC on March 16th.

We still need some operators! If you’re interested in participating, click here for more information about the event and how you can help.

The Maine 200 Special Event recognizes the original 9 Counties of the State of Maine, plus Jameson Tavern in Freeport, the Town of Portland, and Boston, which all played important roles in Maine’s history around the time of statehood.  Special 1-by-1 call signs will commemorate each county and special location.

The Maine 200 Special Event Stations are:

Cumberland: W1C
Hancock: W1H
Kennebec: W1K
Lincoln: W1L
Oxford: W1O
Penobscot: W1P
Somerset: W1S
Washington: W1W
York: W1Y

Jameson Tavern: K1J
Town of Portland: K1P
City of Boston: K1B

Operations will take place on HF, 6m, 2m, and 70cm.  Modes include CW, Phone, and Digital. This allows all Maine Amateur Radio operators to participate in some form.

Certificates will be available for chasers as well as operators. 

Participants can choose to operate at their convenience by signing up on a spreadsheet on the event website. Simply notate the Time Block, and select the Band and Mode you wish to operate. You can operate from your home or any remote location as long as it’s listed on the corresponding County spreadsheet.  (e.g.  QTH is in Hancock County but operating in Cumberland Co. The operator would use the Cumberland County spreadsheet).

If you’re interested in operating, please sign up on the appropriate spreadsheet for your “1820 county.” If you need help determining which is the right one, or if you have any questions, please send an email to: ws1sm@yahoo.com. Be sure to title your message as: Maine 200 Special Event.

Whether its as a chaser or operator, we look forward to having you take part in this Special Event for Amateur Radio in Maine!

73′

Maine 200 Special Event Committee

Special Event Celebrates 100 Years of WWV

The National Institute of Standards and Technology Radio Station WWV will be celebrating its 100-year anniversary in October 2019. The oldest continuously operating radio station in the world deserves a
grand celebration.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Northern Colorado Amateur Radio Club (NCARC) have reached an agreement and are working together to organize the event.

NIST will focus on the plans for Tuesday, October 1, when they will host a recognition ceremony and an open house at the radio station north of Fort Collins.

NCARC will operate a special event amateur radio station, call sign WW0WWV, on the WWV property starting September 28, and going 24-hours a day through October 2. The goal is to make as many U.S. and world-wide contacts during the 120-hour period as possible, using multiple bands and multiple modes on at least 4 simultaneous transmitters. The effort will require hundreds of volunteer operators.

Information on the Special Events Station visit: http://wwv100.com

https://www.nist.gov/news-events/events/2019/10/nist-radio-station-wwv-100-year-anniversary

NASA on the Air Event Kicks off on December 11th

The Amateur Radio clubs at various National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) centers around the US have invited the Amateur Radio community to join the NASA On The Air (NOTA) special event. NOTA gets under way in mid December 2017 and continues through December 2018. In addition to being the agency’s 60th anniversary, 2018 will mark 50 years since NASA orbited the first human around the moon, and 20 years since the first elements of the International Space Station (ISS) were launched into low-Earth orbit.

Starting on Monday, December 11, 2017 (UTC), Amateur Radio club stations at various NASA centers and facilities will be on the air with special event operations to celebrate these monumental achievements, as well as current milestones. Some clubs will offer commemorative QSL cards, and a special certificate will be available indicating the number of NASA club stations worked on various bands and modes.

“We plan to have a web-based system for you to check your points total and download a printable certificate at the end of the event in December 2018,” the NASA announcement said. “Points will be awarded for each center worked on each band and mode (phone, CW, digital, and ‘space’ modes — satellites, meteor scatter, EME, ISS APRS).” That would, of course, include contacts with any of the Amateur Radio stations on the ISS.

Key anniversaries during NOTA include the 45th anniversary of Apollo 17 on December 11, 2017, which kicks off the event; NASA’s founding on July 29, 1958; the 20th anniversary of the ISS first element launch on November 20, 1998; the 20th anniversary of the ISS Node 1 Launch on December 4, 1998, and the 50th anniversary of Apollo 8 — launched on December 21, 1968, and returned on December 27 — marking the end of the event.

Ham radio clubs at various NASA facilities will sponsor their own special events to commemorate and celebrate specific events.

“We hope to be on the air for casual contacts and contests as well. All contacts with NASA club stations will count toward your total,” the announcement said. “QSL cards can be requested from each club you work and details will be on the individual QRZ.com profile page for each club call sign.”

The following call signs will be on the air:

• NA6MF – Ames Research Center, CA
• NA6SA – Armstrong Flight Research Center, CA
• NA8SA – Glenn Research Center, OH
• WA3NAN – Goddard Space Flight Center, MD
• NA1SS – International Space Station, Earth Orbit
• W6VIO – Jet Propulsion Laboratory, CA
• W5RRR – Johnson Space Center, TX
• N1KSC – Kennedy Space Center, FL
• KG4NJA – Langley Research Center, VA
• NN4SA – Marshall Space Flight Center, AL
• TBD – Stennis Space Center, MS
• W4WFF – Wallops Flight Facility, VA
• N5BL – White Sands Complex, NM

 

RAC Canada 150 Award

We are now entering the final month of the Canada 150 Celebrations and the last few weeks to work the RAC special event stations and other special call signs.

The RAC Canada 150 Award is a celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday since Confederation in 1867. The Award is issued for contacting RAC stations between July 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017.

As of December 11th, these stations are scheduled be active throughout the month:

VA2RAC – André Perron, VE2ZT, will operate every weekend until the end of December on various band from 80m to 6m.

VE1RAC – Bob Schofield, VE1RSM, Fred Archibald, VE1FA, Helen Archibald, VA1YL and Scott Nichols, VE1OP, will activate VE1RAC for the rest of 2017.

VA3RAC – Rob Noakes, VE3PCP, will operate VA3RAC from Friday, December 8 until Sunday, December 10.

VE4RAC – Cary Rubenfeld, VE4EA, assisted by other Winnipeg Amateurs, will be operating as VE4RAC from time to time until the end of the year.

VE5RAC – Bj Madsen, VE5FX, is operating as VE5RAC on 20m SSB during the year.

VE6RAC – David Gervais, VE6KD, will operate from December 4 to December 10 and Gord Kosmenko, VE6SV, from December 11 until December 31.

VE7RAC – Fred Orsetti, VE7IO, has organized the following volunteers to operate the VE7RAC call sign for the rest of the year: Doug Pichette, VA7DP, Gabor Horvath, VE7JH, Al McNeil, VA7QQ, John Mackay, VE7RB, Al Ross, VE7WJ, Jim Smith, VE7FO, Rebecca Kimoto, VA7BEC, Koji Kimoto, VA7KO, Brian Summers, VE7JKZ, John White, VA7JW, John Schouten, VE7TI and Fred Orsetti, VE7IO.  A schedule is provided below.

VE8RAC – Gerry St Amand, VE8GER, operated from his cabin near Inuvik in the Northwest Territories until December 8.

VE9RAC – Jean-Paul Leblanc, VE9BK and Marcel Leblanc, VE9ML will be activating VE9RAC for the rest of the year. Andy McLellan, VE9DX, is also operating as VE9RAC on digital modes only.

VO1RAC – Boyd Snow, VO1DI, RAC NL Section Manager, has organized several RAC members across Newfoundland to activate VO1RAC as follows:  Ken Tucker, VO1KVT, from December 3-9; Dave Parsons, VO1COD, from December 10-16; Chris Hillier, VO1IDX, from December 17-23; and Boyd Snow, VO1DI, from December 24-31.

VO2RAC – Nazaire Simon, VO2NS, from Labrador City and Chris Allingham, VE3FU/VO2AC, who will be operating a remote station in Goose Bay from Ontario, will be operating as VO2RAC for the rest of the year.

VY0RAC – Mike Shouldice, VY0CF, will operate VY0RAC until December 31.

VY1RAC – Allen Wootton, VY1KX, will operate VY1RAC until December 8 and David Musselwhite, VY1XY, will operate from December 17 to December 23 and in the RAC Canada Winter Contest on December 30. A schedule is provided below.

VY2RAC –  Greg McCormick, VY2MP, Ron Huybers, VY2HR and Ken McCormick, VY2RU, will continue to activate VY2RAC through the end of 2017.

In addition, there are efforts to have all 14 RAC stations active for the RAC Canada Winter Contest, on December 30th.

Click here for more information about the RAC Canada 150 Award.